A Cry in the Night
by Paula CallowayLong before man knew of their existence, a bond formed which allowed Vampires to protect the Bitten and destroy the Beast so the Were and Humans survived.
His bitten beloved turned Beast and murdered by a cold Hunter, Talen continues as a Gatherer. When a Bitten stirs his heart, moves his soul and ignites his blood, he fears a repeat of the past, but fate tightens his grip.
Liana longed for someone who would love all of her, plumpness included. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever imagine something like the handsome boss her company stuck her with.
A Cry in the Night is an interesting bit of worldbuilding. The prologue helped me figure out what was what instead of reading it all in the story and trying to extrapolate the differences.
This story is well thought out as to character relationships, political hierarchy and how everything works within the cultures of the world that Paula has created.
Not an easy thing to do but the author has sprinkled the story with well written ‘showing’ so that the reader can easily follow the Gatherer and Hunter differences.
In this story, we first meet Talen at a much happier time in his life. There’s a bit of foreshadowing that quickly comes true and we understand his POV as he continues on with his life. He seems to be a vampire who’s only reason for living is his job – a Gatherer. A workaholic vampire. Not much of a life, is it?
His duty brings him into contact with a new Bitten, and his heart takes notice, much to his shock. Liana is a character that I enjoyed reading about. She’s on the plump side and yet she doesn’t get mired in self-destructive thinking. She has a brief visit to her own pity party but it passes because she knows her self-worth. She is just frustrated because no one seems to get it; to see HER, the woman and mind within. I thought it was adorable that Talen comes from a time when ladies like Liana were all the rage.
I noticed that Talen seems stuck in his own time – his choice of addressing Liana seemed out of sync with the current time he resides in. But then again,living as long as he, I suppose he could chose any manner of being; he’s seen enough to figure out that all modes of societal mores is fleeting. I guess being a long-lived vampire, he can be what feels right to him and to heck with everyone else. Wish I could do that.
As for Liana? I personally felt she could have put up more of a fight in accepting Talen’s explantions however, since she was HIS Happy Ever After,I wasn’t too bothered by it. It was enough to appreciate her wit (she had quite a few clever lines) and her saucy thoughts when she viewed Talen’s assets. I liked her spunk.
I will tell you that I found myself enjoying A Cry in the Night and reading about Talen and Liana’s heated romance as well as the world that Paula built for them to live in. However, I have to warn potential readers about some serious editing issues that compromised this story enough to effect my rating of it. Some terminology was repetitious and verbs tended to be in the wrong tense. If you can expect these editing burps, then the story won’t lose its impact for you. If it weren’t for the editing, this story would have been perfect.
Other than that, A Cry in the Night is well worth reading for fans of werewolf and vampire romance stories. Paula has introduced many unique elements that made this a fascinating read. She also introduced a character named Ditmyer who absolutely hooked me. I went from not liking him to being curious about him because towards the end, Paula injected Ditmyer with some intriguing personality cues. If A Cry in the Night is the first in a series then I am more than willing to visit again. The story is that good.
Rating: 
Reviewed by Xeranth
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